Some Christmas fun, Kim Family style

Christmas came and went as fast as we thought it would. Rory was asking me yesterday how much longer until next Christmas, and to a kid that measures time by how many naps he has to take, 363 naps(at least) wasn't the answer he was looking for. Anyways, I tried explaining that it will be here quick to Mom and Dad, but to little kids, it takes a bit longer. He just looked at me with bewilderment in his eyes, and said "never mind, Mom," in a frustrated voice. Sorry bud.
This year I tried to teach Rory and Sydney that Christmas is not about the gifts you get, but the gifts you give.We were given several opportunities to serve this Christmas, and I made sure to involve the kids so they could experience the joy of giving.I know they had fun doing it, and I know it taught them to be thankful every day for all they have. Rory thinks that toys and treats are just something he gets no matter what, but I used some of the experiences we had to teach him that the things he has are things that other people sometimes don't have, like health, a warm home, good food to eat, a warm bed, clean clothes, a warm bath whenever he wants, and lots of toys and activities. I especially tried to remind him that not everyone has a loving family, and the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is something we teach our kids all throughout the year, but for some reason the Christmas Season always brings out the thankfulness in your heart better than other times. My goal this upcoming year is to teach Rory and Sydney the importance of serving others.
Anyways, since Christmas last from Thanksgiving night until New Years for us, we've had a lot of fun. Here's a few pictures:

making cookies(one of several times!)

                                                         Seeing lights at the temple...

                                                    Daddy finally went to Legoland with us!

   We've bought and Micah and Rory have drunk about 5 gallons of eggnog since Thanksgiving....

We looked at lights in a few different neighborhoods this year like usual, but came across this one that we got a laugh from:

 

                                              Christmas Eve, before heading out to Mema and Grandpa's:

                                                     Sydney and her cousin Kaydence:

 Christmas Jammie's with Rory, Kaydence, Sydney and Kaylin(Kaylin did not want to be there, apparently.):

                                                                All of the grand kids:

 Santa came for a quick visit, all of the kids but Rory cried in fear, and Rory knew it was Grandpa(I think his Harley Davidson slippers gave him away)...it was fun, though! :

                                                                  Typical Micah face...

After getting home on Christmas Eve, and stopping at the local taco shop to get Santa his carne asada burrito:

                 Root beer and burrito, Santa's preferred snack, and of course some stuff for the reindeer's:

 The loot:

 Christmas Morning!!

 This is just the stuff from Mema and Grandpa's house the previous night...we should have told Santa to keep flying when he stopped by our house:

 A toy store threw up in our family room:

 Oh yeah, don't forget the stockings!

 Christmas Day at Grandma and Grandpa Kim's:

                                                         Rory, Sydney and Madelynne(Syd got a big box of dress up clothes from Aunt Lucretia and Uncle Matt, she's wearing one of the hats):

                                 Family picture, of course Micah had to try that hat on too!

We had a wonderful Christmas Season, and are looking forward to the New Year. 2010 has brought us innumerable blessings from our Heavenly Father, it has really been a fantastic year. We know next year will only be better.

Christmas time is here....time for joy and cheer(and Thanksgiving, too).

Now aren't you singing that cute Charlie Brown Christmas song? We listened to a radio station today that plays non-stop Christmas music starting on Thanksgiving...the kids love Christmas music. They have even swapped out their normal "Baby Baluga" and "Go to Sleep" bed time songs for "Jingle Bells" and "Santa Clause is Coming to Town."
Thanksgiving was a hit, I have made it my life-time goal to NEVER have to cook a Thanksgiving dinner. So far, so good. Considering we are going on 10 years of wedded bliss, I am doing pretty good. We went to Mom and dad Kim's for dinner, where we look forward to the best rolls ever, and getting to play with cousins. The kids were nice and tired after the day of fun and eating, and fell right to sleep in the car before we even got on the freeway headed home from Temecula.

                                                         Rory and his cousin Lacey

                        Grandma Kim out out a big bowl of hard candy and the kids ate every one(mostly my kids).

                                                         The best rolls ever....seriously!

                                                                    My sweet potatoes.

                                                               Grandpa and Rory being silly.

                                                          Rory and his cousin Madelynn playing.

                                        A sweet moment between Mom and Dad(I think she was telling him to not botch up the turkey when he cut it).

We have the tradition of putting up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving, but Micah was working all day, so we made it a Saturday afternoon activity/project. We patiently awaited Daddy to get done working that morning, and played with Mema and Grandpa at the park and ate to our heart;s content at the farmer's market. Once Micah came home, it was on! I forgot to take pictures of the kids decorating, but here's the finished product....(the kids LOVE hanging up the ornaments and looking at each one):

 Rory felt that we needed some gifts under the tree right away, so he put some of his trucks under there for Sydney:

                                                            The reason for the Season:

         My mother-in-law made this little elf for us several years ago, and I like to hide him around in different places and put him in funny positions for the kids to find the next morning...yesterday was lounging on the TV, today he was hanging upside down from the valance over our slider door:

 Each year instead of cookies and milk for Santa, we leave a carne asada burrito from a local taco shop and a mug of root beer for Santa...and a few carrots for the reindeer, too. Santa LOVES this way more than cookies. My sister-in-law made this plate for us so Santa knew it was definitely for him:

Yesterday we spent a few minutes filling in our advent calendar with the usual traditional activities we do each year at Christmas, so we are ready! And the best part? My shopping is DONE. And has been for weeks. What a load off. Merry Christmas!!